Dale Carnegie, in his book “How to win friends and influence people” explains that one should never complain, criticise or condemn. This is the first principle of building relationships that last. Quality Assurance is arguably one of the best professions to observe if and how this principle works.

If you tell me that “human error” was to blame for the poor product or service, I will tell you that you don’t know your process. 

Let me ask you this. Have you ever thought of the real damage that “human error” expression causes? It’s easy to blame people, especially if they are not present during the conversation. Would you so willingly put them on the spot during the same discussion if they were sitting next to you?

When your ego wants to silence the logic

Blaming culture is the way down. It’s is counterproductive and unprofessional. Unfortunately, when you feel the pressure, your self-defence mechanism kicks in. For some of us, it doesn’t take long to point the finger, to look for a scapegoat, to shift everyone’s attention to somebody else. Here is what happens when you attempt to do so:

• People lose their confidence
• Resistance to change increases
• Morale gets a serious hit
• Reactive approach replaces proactivity

People only make mistakes if the process is not good enough.

Next time something goes wrong, work with people not against them. There are plenty of tools and methods to investigate the issue and get to the root cause. Don’t forget that often problems and challenges lead to improvement or innovation. When was the last time you have used one of these:

• Value stream mapping
• Brainstorming
• 8D analysis
• 5 Why
• Change management techniques

Improvement of the process results in better product or service and reduce the potential for errors.

Change your attitude, and soon, you will notice extra benefits:

• People will respect you
• Problems will be solved at the source
• Teamwork will be encouraged
• The work environment will promote proactivity

As always, you are welcome to visit our Premium Library where you can find a bunch of great tools to support your daily works. All free to download and ready to use.

Have you ever had to deal with “blaming culture” or “human error”? What’s the best advice you could give to someone who struggles with one of these? Please share your experience in the comments below.